Scenery

Our last weekend of all of us travelling together was one to remember.  Dingle was a wonderful experience and personally the best trip we have been on.  The weather was in our favor so that’s always a plus.  On our way to Dingle we stopped at W.B. Yeats’ house and it was beautiful.  We had class there and it was really neat to see our literature professor shine while reading some of Yeats’ poetry.  It was beautiful. The weather was really dreary, so eventually we took off to Coole Park.  Again, our literature professor shined.  The weather was a lot better there, not as cold.  We all stood by the calming river as our professor read poetry to us.  It was so relaxing.  After that we headed to the Cliffs of Mohr and that was absolutely stunning.  After being at the Aran Islands it was kind of disappointing because the cliffs are much much higher, but it is still worth going to see.  It was not rainy at all, so seeing the sunlight shine and glisten on the ocean and cliffs were just so incredible.  It was a little bit scary because I could see where the dirt has fallen off, so it was clear that going to the edge of the cliff was not a smart idea.   

 

Finally, after a 12 hour bus ride we reached our destination, Dingle.  Most beautiful scenery surrounding the town.  All of us stayed in this house outside of town in a remote area.  It was almost like a condo.  It had a feel of a reality television show that you would watch.  The house was grand.  The owner even supplied us with food, which was super sweet. To make this trip more enjoyable we celebrated two birthdays of two special people, Alexis and Shane.  It is truly amazing of how close all of us are with each other.  The whole crew bought a card for them and we celebrated with lots of food, drinks, and games.

 

 

 

As we headed back to the cottages we went to the most beautiful castle, called Blarney Castle.  There a lot more to it than the Blarney Castle, although the most popular thing to do is to kiss the Blarney stone for eloquence and you are dang right I kissed it.  I enjoyed every minute I was there.  Also, wishing steps are a big thing.  You walk down the steps eyes closes, and walk them up eyes closed and make a wish.  Either way, I would definitely recommend it.  Besides, there is a poison garden and a fairy park there as well. It was really cool to see it. 

 

 



 

Building Bridges

As many of you know I volunteer as much as I can in the states. Luckily, I had the opportunity to build bridges here in Ireland as well.  I think it is very important to volunteer and to build bridges in not only your own community but others as well especially if you live in another country for three months.

  Two of my friends and myself thought that helping cute little children would be perfect for us.  And it was.  There is a day care right along the street about a fifteen minute walk from Park Lodge.  It was weird actually, because all of us just walked into the building without anyone stopping us.  Let’s be real, if we were to do this in America the workers would have a hay day of some strangers just walking into the building.  It was just weird.  Anyways, we walked into the day care and we find the office of important people we need to talk too.  The lady was very nice, her name was Ashley.  She was interested in knowing why we were there.  Although, she wasn’t quite the lady in charge.  We waited about 10 minutes for the boss and her name in Jane Marie. 

It went well.  She gave us dates of when we could help out with the kiddos.  We decided to help out on March 28^th and March 29^th because they were having camps on these days.  It was perfect. The children were five years of age to ten years of age.  During the camp we did some pretty cool crafts with them.  They were about Easter and St. Patrick’s Day.  The kiddos absolutely loved it.  Although, the older kids were not too thrilled because they thought it was kind of boring.  All in all, it was good craic and we connected well with the staff and children.  They are all super nice people.

Field trip to Westport

Last weekend all of use went to Westport.  On the way there we stopped at Croagh Patrick.  It is a beautiful mountain, and the hike is insane.  It is more of what professional hikers would hike.  I made it half way to the actual half way point. The view is breath taking, but it also takes your breath away as you climb it.  I thought it was harder to walk down the mountain than it was to walk up it.  I literally had to watch every step so I would not fall.  Also, it takes about two hours to get to the top of the mountain and an hour and a half to get down for the normal person.  All I can say is be mentally prepared, dress accordingly, bring lots of water and bring a walking stick for the climb.   

 

 Finally, we arrived in Westport. The town has been nominated for tidiest town numerous times.  Quite frankly, it is the cutest town I have been to yet.  Small and well put together.  The people are extremely nice, but the guys are very flirty.  Which was annoying.  The day I arrived I did not do a dang thing.  My friend Alexa and I went out to eat to a Chinese Restaurant and it was a bit expensive for fried rice. Not cool.  The next day which was a Sunday, I went to the Westport House.  The walk there had the most beautiful scenery I have seen.  Nature is soothing for the soul.  I did not go into the house, I walked around it.  My favorite thing about the house was that I met Humpty Dumpty and I saved him from falling.  He is a great guy.

 

After I finished with the house, I went back into town.  On the way back I saw this van that said “MATTHEWSON” on the back.  It is my last name, so I went up and talked to the guys because I am a curious and friendly person.  They were cool cats.  FYI do not mention Northern Ireland to anyone who lives in plain Ireland because they do not take it well.  Hard pass. Other than that Westport was good craic.  I would definitely go back for a day or so.  Just not on a Sunday because almost everything is closed.  Keep that in mind.

Ireland Fam Bam

The social life Ireland has to offer is spot on.  I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else except for my great people I now call family.  Galway is grand.  Taffes, Kings Head, Quays, and Karma are all great pubs to go too.  Live music is a thing at every pub, it is good craic.  Even on the weeknights they have live music.  At the mandatory meetings we had to attend before the trip, I was a bit skeptical about everyone I will be spending the next three months with.  Turns out they are pretty cool humans.  All of us are pretty close to each other, within 3 weeks all of us knew quite a bit about one another.  I thought that was fairly fast but these are the only people I have for 3 months.  Everyone with me on this trip are my family.   My friend Regan celebrated her 21^st birthday here in Ireland, and the crew threw her a surprise birthday party in the cottages.  She had no idea, when she walked into the cottage she was almost in tears.  She was thrilled.  All of us had party hats on and it was simply a great night. 

Also, just this week we threw a hen party for Miranda.  Not every day does your friend get proposed to in Madrid, Spain.  Seriously how cute.  I am so happy for her and Tiff.  Buying the hen party supplies was a lot of fun.  It was my first one I have ever been a part of.  We definitely celebrated the Irish way. 

 

I love all of them so much, but after spending every minute together, I find that I need to give myself space.  We breathe the same air, we attend class together, we basically sleep together, we eat together, we travel together, we literally do every single thing together.  So sometimes it is nice  to take time out for myself. 

BUT I would not have my journey be any different.  I love Ireland, and the people I am experiencing it with.  It is definitely the best decision I have ever made.  Long friendships all because I decided to study abroad.